


Shadow Puppets

by TheMangosity



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Ancient Egyptian Deities, Mystery, Other, Shadow Realm, follow atem as he finds the answers!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-25 18:23:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15646371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMangosity/pseuds/TheMangosity
Summary: Shadows have descended upon Domino City, and Yugi is stuck asleep. Atem knows the two are connected, he just doesn't know how. He teams up with Kaiba to solve the mystery. Kaiba is only begrudgingly along for the ride.





	1. Shadow of a Doubt

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for the 2018 YuGiOh Big Bang, where writers and artists collaborate to write stories and draw art for the stories! My artist is betnawr from tumblr! My story has art in Chapter 4, so stay tuned for that! I hope you enjoy the story!

Yugi won't wake up, can't wake up. There are shadows rising from his body, filling his bedroom. It's not a physical thing. Grandpa wouldn't be able to see it if he were here, but Atem can sense it. The shadows can't hurt him because he used to be one with them, but Yugi is easy prey.

Atem sits on the edge of Yugi's bed and touches his forehead. His skin is freezing to the touch, but his face is peaceful. He doesn't appear to be suffering at all, but something is clearly wrong. There's only one way to find out what.

He squeezes Yugi's hand and rides the shadows into Yugi's soul room. It's not as easy as when they shared a mind, but he manages it. The landscape of Yugi’s heart is completely changed from the last time Atem was here. There’s no sign of the hallway leading to his soul room. All he sees are shadows. Yugi’s heart has always held traces of the shadows in it. He couldn’t come out completely unscathed from his time with the Millennium Puzzle, but it’s never been this bad.

Atem reaches out with his heart, calls for Yugi, but gets no reply. Either Yugi can’t hear him or isn’t here to begin with. Neither option bodes well. If Yugi can’t hear him then it means something is preventing their connection. If Yugi isn’t here it means his soul is gone, but Atem won't consider that possibility. There’s no way he wouldn't have noticed Yugi's soul getting separated from his body.

 _Open up a path_ , Atem thinks, reaching out to the shadows. _Take me to Yugi_. Yugi’s shadows have always been willing to listen to him because they remember him, but the shadows before him won’t budge. Then these aren’t Yugi’s shadows, and he can’t get a read on how friendly they are.

He presses forward through the shadows, calling out to Yugi’s shadows occasionally but never getting a reply. If he doesn’t find Yugi here in his heart where he’s supposed to be, he’s not sure what his next course of action will be. He’s starting to lose hope when, to his immense relief, he sees Yugi up ahead sitting among the shadows with a deck of cards in his hands. He's much younger than he is currently in real life. He is as Atem has always seen him.

"Yugi!" he calls.

Yugi looks up from his cards and smiles as if nothing is wrong, as if he doesn't notice the shadows consuming his heart.

Atem kneels down beside him and feels out his soul for injuries. "Are you all right?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asks, still smiling.

"No reason," Atem says. Yugi’s sleeping soul has always had a strange sort of logic. "Yugi, do you know why you can't wake up?"

"I don't know,” Yugi says. “The shadows won’t leave me alone.”

"Do you know why?"

"No," Yugi says with a shrug. "They won't tell me."

"Then perhaps they'll tell me." 

Atem thinks the strongest command he can at the shadows around Yugi. _Tell me what I seek to know._

The shadows thrash. Atem can sense that some of them belong to Yugi, but there are traces of the foreign shadows he sensed before. They’re mixed in with Yugi’s shadows, and Atem can hardly tell the difference between the two. Then it is worse than he thought. After a struggle with the shadows, Atem finds that he can’t force them to tell him what he wants to know.

"Yugi, are you certain you don't know what's causing this?"

"I'm afraid not," Yugi says. "But take this as an offering." From the darkness above Yugi, it begins to rain feathers. Yugi plucks a feather from the air and offers it to Atem with both hands. "For you, my pharaoh."

Atem accepts the feather and turns it over in his hands. He recognizes it, but he wants to be sure that Yugi knows.

"Yugi, which bird is this from?"

Yugi is shuffling his cards again. He won’t look Atem in the eye. "Falcon," he says softly.

It's the symbol of the pharaoh, the symbol of Horus. Sleeping Yugi tends to know more than his waking self, but he’s always been into abstract thought. It’s always been difficult for Atem to parse what he means. He’s not sure if this feather is supposed to be an answer to his question or a passing thought in his stream of consciousness.

He does know one thing, though. Yugi has always liked to imagine falcon feathers when he’s having a nightmare. It makes him feel safe. It’s something he never remembers after waking up, but Atem does. The abundance of falcon feathers littering Yugi's dreamscape right now is a surefire sign that Yugi does not feel safe.

Atem squeezes Yugi's shoulders, and when Yugi looks up at him his smile isn't as big as before. "I promise I'll find out what's causing this."

"I know," Yugi says. "Be quick. Oh, and say hi to Kaiba for me, okay?"

"I will."

Atem emerges from Yugi's dream without breaking eye contact. Soon he's back in the real world, sitting beside a sleeping Yugi with none of the answers he sought. Yugi's cell phone begins to ring, and when Atem checks the caller ID, it’s Kaiba. He doesn't know how Yugi knew, but he did.

Kaiba never calls them. Ever. Not even to set up a Duel. He relies on fancy, embroidered invitations for that sort of thing. Whatever this is about, it won't be about Duel Monsters. Perhaps even Kaiba senses that something isn't right.

"Yes, Kaiba?" Atem says.

"Okay, I give up," Kaiba says.

"Huh?" Did Kaiba just say the words, "I" and "give" and "up" in that order?

"How'd you do it?" Kaiba asks, sounding impatient as ever.

"Do what?"

"How'd you come back?"

"Oh." So that's what it's about. Atem hasn't told anyone the secret of his resurrection other than Yugi. His friends have respected his privacy, but Kaiba won't stop asking him about it. Apparently coming back from the dead doesn't line up with Kaiba's realist worldview. As amusing as it is keeping Kaiba in the dark about what really happened, he always planned to tell him the truth eventually. He just never got around to it.

"Now isn't the best time for this, Kaiba," Atem says. "Yugi isn't well. I have to take care of him."

"Really? It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the weather, would it?"

"Excuse me?"

Kaiba is silent for a beat. "Are you kidding? You haven't looked outside once today?"

"What?"

Atem reaches for the window above Yugi's bed and parts the curtains. He almost drops the phone. Yugi's condition and the weather outside are undoubtedly related, but he has no idea how. He suspects Kaiba knows the answer. "Kaiba, what did you do?"

* * *

"You're going to want to see this, sir," Roland says.

Kaiba can count on a single hand the number of times that he's seen Roland look so unnerved. The man is a rock. Whatever it is must be truly awful.

"What is it?"

"You'll have to see for yourself, Mr. Kaiba." Roland points, and Kaiba swivels his chair around to look out the window. He's always enjoyed the view from his office. He can see all the way to the pier from up here. It's usually a crystal-clear view, but not today. Today there are shadows drifting over the city like mist, swirling between buildings and darkening the streets.

"Contact the lab," Kaiba says, standing up from his desk. "I want an explanation for this."

"I already did. They say they have nothing to do with it."

Kaiba thought so. The last time they turned on their machine was about a week ago, and his technicians wouldn't have done any further testing without his approval.

"Keep me posted. I'm going outside to get a better look."

"Of course, sir."

Kaiba takes the elevator up to the roof to find that there are shadows here too. It's hard for Kaiba to look at them directly. They keep flitting out of his sight every time he thinks he has a good look. He goes over to the roof's edge to survey the city. Although the sun is shining, the shadows are alive and well. This strange coexistence between the shadows and the light is something they've studied in the lab, but he's never been able to figure out the physics behind it. Through the haze, Kaiba can see people gathering in the streets. Even from all the way up here, he can hear them crying out in shock. They should be used to this kind of thing by now. At least monsters aren't attacking the town this time.

Well, since the world is ending, there's only one thing he wants to know. He pulls out his phone and dials Yugi's number. He leans against the railing as it rings and rings. At first he thinks there won't be an answer, but then Atem answers with, "Yes, Kaiba?" He says it like Kaiba calls them on the phone all the time, like there's nothing wrong in the world. There is just no catching this guy off guard. Well, there is one way.

"Okay, I give up." Saying it makes Kaiba want to throw up, but in this one instance, he's willing to concede defeat. He can hear the pharaoh's shocked speechlessness even over the phone, and revels in the fact that he really did catch him off guard with that one.

"Huh?"

"How'd you come back?"

"Oh." Kaiba never knew that one syllable could be arrogant, patronizing and mocking all at once. It makes him want to punch Atem in his smug little face. "Now isn't the best time for this, Kaiba. Yugi isn't well. I have to take care of him."

"Really?" He always knew the pharaoh had some weird physical connection with this shadow phenomenon, but he didn't think Yugi had a sensitivity as well. "It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the weather, would it?"

"Excuse me?"

"Are you kidding?" He's got to be kidding. "You haven't looked outside once today?"

"What?"

How could he not know? It's got to be all over the news. Kaiba waits the three seconds it takes for Atem to figure out that shadows are taking over the town.

"Kaiba, what did you do?"

"What did I do? What makes you think I had anything to do with this?" Kaiba asks, gesticulating wildly even though Atem can't see him.

"We know you've been experimenting with shadow magic, Kaiba," Atem says gravely.

Kaiba knew they would figure it out eventually, but he never thought it would be this soon. His shadow lab is all the way on the outskirts of town. He never thought the pharaoh's connection extended that far.

"We never mentioned it because you have every right to be curious about the shadows," Atem continues. "Did your experiments cause this?"

"No," Kaiba says after a while. "Our machine isn't capable of anything on this scale."

"You...you have a shadow machine?"

"We have a shadow generator," Kaiba corrects him. "It can only produce shadows for minutes at a time."

Atem is silent for a moment. Kaiba knows him well enough to see the gears turning even over the phone. "Take me to your lab. I want to see what this generator can do."

Kaiba's anger rises to the surface. "Let's get one thing straight. You don't tell me what to do."

"Kaiba, the whole city is in danger. Yugi's life is in danger. Your lab may hold the key to reversing whatever this is."

"I highly doubt it. What's wrong with Yugi?"

"The shadows have a grip on his heart," Atem says with a burning voice. "They won't let him wake up. I don't know what's causing it."

Kaiba remembers when Mokuba supposedly lost his soul at the hands of Pegasus. He remembers all too well how powerless it felt knowing that he couldn't help his brother. Kaiba hates relating to people, especially Yugi and his dumb friends, but the similarities are too striking not to tug at his barely functioning heartstrings.

"Fine then. You can come to the lab."

"What?"

"You heard me. You can come see the shadow generator, but I'm telling you it has nothing to do with whatever is going on here."

He can hear the pharaoh sigh with relief. "Thank you, Kaiba."

"Whatever. I'll send a car for you. Be ready in twenty minutes."

Kaiba hands up before the pharaoh can profess any more of his genuine thanks. He gets the feeling Atem is sitting over there having mushy friendship feelings about him. It's disgusting.

In any case, Kaiba is positive his lab didn't cause this disaster, but it won't hurt to see what his head technician has to say about the whole situation. With a final glance back at the shadows consuming the city, Kaiba goes back inside to find Roland and tell him to send a car for Atem. He'll also need to call Irvine down at the lab and tell him to hide their latest project. He doesn't mind showing Atem his research on the shadows, but he can't have all his secrets out in the open before he's ready to share. That would ruin all the fun.


	2. Dark Secrets

Joey is having a beautiful dream about endless cheeseburgers and chocolate fudge sundaes when the phone blasts him awake. He yelps and jumps out of bed. He thought he put that thing on silent last night. He frowns when he sees that it's Yugi. Yugi knows he never wakes up past noon.

"Yugi, you know I need my beauty sleep. What's up?"

"Joey, I'm going to need you to wake up and go outside." It's Atem. It's not that weird for Atem and Yugi to play light and loose with their cell phones, but it is a little weird for Atem to sound so serious on a day when he's not even scheduled to Duel Kaiba.

"What's up, man? Is everything okay?"

"No, not really," the pharaoh replies. "Just look outside."

Joey picks his way through crumpled up clothes and discarded candy wrappers to get to the window on the other side of the room. He peers up into the oddly darkened sky and groans. It looks like the Shadow Realm out there, or at least what he imagines it probably looks like.

"Oh man. What is it this time?"

"I don't know," the pharaoh says. "The shadows are running rampant through the city. I have no idea why. Kaiba is taking me up to his lab to investigate."

"The shadow lab you and Yugi are always going on about? So he's finally letting you in there, huh?"

"So it seems. But while I'm gone I need you to look after Yugi. He's...unwell."

"Huh?" Joey perks up. "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know. He's stuck in some kind of deep sleep. Nothing I do will wake him."

Yugi was totally fine the last time Joey saw him. It's weird to imagine he could have gotten into trouble  so quickly. "All right, who's butt do I have to kick?"

"No one's. Not yet, anyway. We can only hope Kaiba and I will discover the key to this mystery."

Atem has always been protective of Yugi. Always. Joey knows how painful it must be for him to see Yugi this way without any clue of why he's out of commission.

"You can count on me, buddy. Go with Kaiba and figure out what's causing this mess."

"Thank you, Joey."

"Any time, pall. I'll be over before you know it."

Joey throws the phone over his shoulder and finds the most presentable shirt he can find off the floor. Poor Yugi. He's always been sensitive to changes in the shadows. Joey doesn't really understand it, but Atem told him once that he worried the shadows would be too much for Yugi to handle one day. Well, today must be that day, but Joey is confident Atem will find a way to get Yugi out of this mess. He always does.

* * *

Atem has never been inside any of the KaibaCorp tech labs before. He once saw a  documentary that showed a brief glimpse inside, but that's about it. The real thing is far more magnificent. It's enormous. The inside is covered from floor to ceiling with technology Atem could never hope to understand. Sleek, white metallic walls line every hall. He's certain Kaiba chose that shade of white to match the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but he doesn't say anything.

Kaiba pauses in front of a set of double doors. "Count yourself lucky," he says. "You're the first person from outside of KaibaCorp I've ever let in this room."

"What an honor," Atem says.

Kaiba narrows his eyes. "Just don't touch anything."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Kaiba pushes open the doors and instead of the chaotic team of nervous employees Atem was expecting, they find a handful of technicians calmly reading data from several consoles.

"Irvine, status report," Kaiba says, and a man who surely regrets that he is Irvine comes up to Kaiba, still leafing through the thick stack of papers in his arms.

"Sir, I'm telling you our research has nothing to do with whatever is going on out there. We haven't touched this machine in weeks."

"Really?" Kaiba says, sounding skeptical, though Atem remembers Kaiba said over the phone that he didn't think his lab had anything to do with it.

Atem isn't really paying attention to Kaiba giving his employee a hard time though. At the head of the room, behind a thick wall of glass, is a machine that looks sort of like the particle accelerator he saw on _Ancient Aliens_ last week with Yugi. It's a cluster of metal rings within metal rings. Can this machine really create shadows?

"Show me the data from the last time we turned it on," Kaiba says, and the man scrambles away to find the data.

"Are you going to turn it on today?" Atem asks.

Kaiba looks down at him like he forgot he was there. "The results were underwhelming the last time we turned it on. We can't get the shadows stable for more than a few minutes at a time. "

"That's okay," Atem says. "I just want to know if you can really make shadows."

"Really?" Kaiba's eyes gleam the way they do when Atem challenges him to a Duel. "Irvine, forget the data. We're running another test."

"What? But sir, I haven't added the modifications you asked for last time."

"I don't care. Just do it. Show my friend here what we're made of." Atem knows it must have pained Kaiba to say the word "friend," much less in reference to him. The twitch in Kaiba's eye fills him with wicked glee. "Everyone take your positions." Kaiba sits in the Blue-Eyes White Dragon chair in the back of the room, and Atem has a seat in the plain, unassuming one beside it. "You're about to see what KaibaCorp tech division is really capable of."

"Can't wait," Atem says.

The technicians scramble to their positions at the various rows of consoles lined up throughout the room, and soon the turbine at the center of the machine slowly begins to rotate. The inner circles begin to spin one after the other. It's all completely silent, or maybe the room is so heavily fortified that no sound can get through.

"We're at maximum velocity, sir," Irvine says.

Kaiba doesn't say anything back. He gives no indication whether the test is a success or not, but then he wouldn't. Kaiba has the best poker face.

Atem waits and waits, but still there are no shadows. He's starting to think maybe the machine is defective or never worked at all. Atem is about to make some snide remark, but then he feels it. He knows the moment the machine starts to work.

The surface of his skin begins to tingle the way it always does when he's in close proximity to the shadows. He can feel it in his chest. He glances sidelong at Kaiba, but he gives no reaction. Atem knows he can feel it, though.

Shadows slither out of the machine, pouring out of it like water. They fill the room behind the glass with a dim haze, but none of the shadows manage to leak into the control room. Kaiba built this place well. If those shadows got in here, the crew would be swallowed up. He doubts any of them has the mental fortitude to resist even these weak shadows.

These shadows are a different quality from the shadows descending upon the town. Perhaps Kaiba really isn't the cause of the shadows outdoors.

Atem closes his eyes and opens his mind to the shadows. Even through the glass barrier, he can still make contact with them.

 _Yes, my pharaoh?_ The shadows always know him, no matter where they come from.

_Give me answers. Where does your allegiance lie?_

_Shadows rarely tell, pharaoh. You know that. Our origins are a secret._

Atem calls to his own shadows and reaches for the haze. _I am Pharaoh Atem, son of Aknamkanon. Tell me where you come from, or else._

_'Tis a higher power than you that binds us, my lord._

_Tell me all you are able. Who binds you to this path?_

_Ask your Yugi when he wakes. Tell him we bid him good night._

_Then he will wake?_

_Perhaps._

The haze grows thinner as the machine is powers down.

_We grow weak, pharaoh. Farewell. Good night._

Before Atem can further probe the shadows, the machine powers down for good, and his connection is lost.

"How's that for shadows?" Kaiba asks. Atem looks up to find him beaming with his usual Kaiba-brand of overconfidence. "I told you we could do it."

"Can I speak with you in private?" Atem asks.

"Sure, why not? I'm feeling generous."

Atem holds back the many snide remarks that come to mind as Kaiba leads them out into the hallway.

"So, what did you think?" Kaiba asks smugly.

"I suppose it was impressive," Atem admits. "But you should know that your machine doesn't produce shadows. It attracts them."

"What are you going on about?" Kaiba asks. "I think my scientists know when they're making shadows and when they aren't."

"You can't create shadows. You can only call them," Atem says. "Just now your machine called some very weak shadows, which means your lab probably isn't the source. Those shadows were too weak to spread so far and wide into the city."

"I told you we had nothing to do with it. This facility is too heavily fortified for any of the shadows to escape anyway."

"Even so, I suggest you not go any further in your research. This machine is dangerous."

"Dangerous because it works."

"I'm serious, Kaiba. You're dabbling with powers you don't understand. Shadow Magic will eat you alive if you're not careful."

"Magic? Really? Not that again. When are you going to stop believing in fairy tales?"

"You can't tell me you don't feel the shadows coursing through your body when that machine is on. I know you don't like to admit it, Kaiba, but you have just as strong of a connection to the shadows as Yugi and I do."

"You sound ridiculous."

"I could say the same to you," Atem says. "If it isn't shadow magic, then tell me, Kaiba. Just what are the shadows? Explain it to me with your science."

"Just because I can't explain what it is, doesn't mean it's _magic_. It's a phenomenon we have yet to understand."

"Okay then, how do you explain the feeling you get when that machine is on?"

"That's not 'magic.' That's static electricity."

Atem blinks. "Wow. Denial really isn't just a river in Egypt."

"I hate you so much."

Atem laughs despite everything. "In any case, we still don't know what's causing our situation, but I was able to commune with the shadows for the short amount of time they were active."

Kaiba raises an eyebrow. "You can talk to shadows?" he asks, skeptical as ever.

"I command them," Atem corrects him. "And yes, I do understand them to a certain extent."

"Okay, assuming I believe that, what did they say?"

"The bits I was able to make out were cryptic. I still don't know if Yugi will be all right."

"Look, I'm going to be blunt."

 _As usual_ , Atem thinks, but he doesn't say it out loud.

"If Yugi is in a freaking coma, talking to shadows isn't going to help him. He needs a doctor. I can arrange for him to be treated at the KaibaCare Medical Center."

It's moments like this when Atem wonders how Kaiba can fool himself into thinking he doesn't care about them. "I appreciate it, Kaiba. Really, I do. But your doctors won't be able to do anything for him. He's beyond their help."

Kaiba opens his mouth to say something else, but then suddenly he touches his earpiece. Atem waits patiently as Kaiba exchanges a few words with whoever is on the other end of the line.

"Roland says we need to go outside. He says it's an emergency."

"Is it the shadows?"

"He won't tell me. He says we have to see it for ourselves."

Kaiba leads them back through the maze of hallways to the front of the building. At first Atem doesn't notice anything different. The shadows still look much the same as they did before, but then he notices something falling from the sky.

"Is that what I think it is?" Atem asks.

Kaiba doesn't say anything. Atem looks up to find him frozen with astonishment, something that happens to Kaiba a lot more frequently than people might expect. Atem doesn't blame him this time.

It's raining Duel Monsters cards. They're mixed in with the shadows, falling in gentle swirls. It shouldn't be possible, but it's really happening.

"How?" Atem asks, but Kaiba is still speechless. One of the cards flutters down to his eye level. It's Swords of Revealing Light. It's slightly transparent, but it seems no different from a regular Duel Monsters card, other than the fact that it's raining down from the sky. Atem reaches out to touch it, and it disintegrates into black mist. Atem recognizes Book of Moon and Trap Hole. He sees Spellbinding Circle. Then he sees Kuriboh, and the deck comes into striking focus.

He knows whose deck this is, and he knows that Kaiba knows too.

"Kaiba, this is Yugi's deck," Atem says, and the more he picks through the cards floating through the air, the more he knows it's not just a coincidence. This really is Yugi's deck. "This doesn't bode well. I need to get back to him."

Kaiba snaps out of his trance. "Wait. My tech might actually be involved in this after all."

In all truthfulness, Atem thought Kaiba was probably involved somehow, but he can't imagine how Kaiba thinks he caused Yugi's deck to fall from the sky. "Explain yourself."

Kaiba's eye twitches, probably from being ordered around again, but before Kaiba can offer any sort of explanation, the pharaoh's cell phone rings. It's Joey.

"We're not done here," Atem says before answering the phone. "Joey, is Yugi all right?"

"Uh...Sort of."

"What do you mean 'sort of'?"

"Well, you could say we have a tiny situation." Joey screams and Atem hears a crash. He can hear Yugi shouting angrily in the background. He doesn't sound like he's in pain, only extremely angry. At least he's awake, but something clearly isn't right.

"Tell me what's going on."

"Listen for yourself."

Yugi's voice comes into clearer focus, and Atem reels.

"What? What is it?" Kaiba asks. Atem knows he must look like he's seen a ghost. In some ways, he has. "What's he saying?"

"I don't believe it," Atem says. "Yugi is speaking Egyptian."


	3. Darkest Before Dawn

The only thing he remembers is rage. He thinks he used to be somebody, but whoever he used to be, if he ever really was anyone to begin with, was stripped away, leaving nothing but the rage, the first and last thing he ever felt.

And now he hates. He is pathetic.

"Yugi?" He feels someone touch his shoulder. "Can you hear me, buddy?"

His vision is fuzzy, but then a man's face comes into focus. He's not sure if he recognizes him. He's not sure where he is. He's not sure of anything except his rage. He is cold and he is burning all at once.

He sits up, but the room is spinning.

"Hey, take it easy. Don't push yourself."

The man touches his shoulder and he glares. "Tell me where I am."

The man gawks. "Uh...Are you okay, Yugi? What am I talking about. Of course you're not."

"Don't ignore me." Yugi attempts to rise from the bed, but the man holds him down. Yugi's anger flares.

"Hey, slow down. Why don't you just get back in bed and–"

"Enough!" Yugi shouts. He shoves the man's hands away and reaches for the nearest solid object. He lifts it over his head and swings. The man has the sense and the reflexes to jump out of the way before his head gets bashed in.

"H-hey! That's your limited edition Dark Magician piggy bank! I know you don't want to break that!"

Yugi stops just short of throwing this thing with all of his strength. Dark Magician? The words don't have any meaning for him, but the name stirs something inside of him. He places it down gently on the table beside him and opts instead for the pencil box.

"Get away from me," he says. "Or else."

Yugi doesn't think he looks all that threatening brandishing a pencil box, but the man looks nervous. "What's gotten into you, Yuug?"

With a cry, Yugi throws the metal box and the man dives behind the couch. "Get out!" He grabs everything he can get his hands on and throws it as hard as he can. "Out!"

The man shouts for him to stop as he throws books and metal tins and other miscellaneous objects, but he doesn't stop, and it doesn't make him feel any better. His rage boils on. His mind is ever blank. Whoever he was, his identity, is lost, perhaps for good. He can't even remember his own name. He really is pathetic.

* * *

Atem rushes into the game shop with Kaiba close behind. He doesn't tell him to follow him, but he doesn't tell him not to follow him either. Now isn't the time to worry that Kaiba will see where they live. Yugi is what's most important right now.

He runs upstairs and opens Yugi's bedroom door in time to see Joey take an alarm clock to the face. A pillow and stuffed Kuriboh follow close behind.

"Owowowow! Yugi, cut it out!" Joey shouts from his hiding place behind the couch. "That really hurt!" That's when he notices Atem. "Atem! Thank God you're here. Do something!"

At the sight of Atem, Yugi freezes halfway to throwing another pillow. He's standing on the bed. His eyes are wild. _Poor thing_ , Atem thinks. Clearly Yugi's inability to wake was the least of their concerns.

"Yugi, it's all right," Atem says, approaching cautiously.

Yugi holds up the pillow threateningly. "Go away!"

There it is again. So he wasn't just imagining it over the phone. Yugi really is speaking in Egyptian. There can be no mistake. Atem knows his mother tongue when he hears it.

"Enough, Yugi," Atem says in Egyptian. "You'll get hurt."

Yugi's eyes widen. His grip tightens around the pillow. "Tell him to go away," Yugi's says, motioning to Joey.

Atem looks at Joey. Kaiba is right behind him, hanging back in the hallway just outside the door, arms crossed, eyes cold. "Can you give us some privacy?"

Kaiba uncrosses his arms but doesn't budge from the doorway. He appears in deep thought, only staring, thinking. At first Atem thinks he won't go.

Joey, on the other hand, leaps up from behind the couch. "Y-yeah! Of course!" He almost bumps into Kaiba in his eagerness to leave, but he doesn't seem all that surprised to see him there. "Come on, Kaiba. Let's go...uh...raid the fridge. Gee, I never thought I'd say that."

Kaiba looks disgusted, as he always does when Joey is involved, but he eventually heeds Atem's request and leaves the room.

Atem sits on the bed beside Yugi. "Are you all right, Yugi?"

"No, I don't think I am," Yugi says, clutching the pillow like it's a safety blanket.

"Give that to me," Atem says, reaching for the pillow. He gently pries it out of Yugi's hands and places it back in its proper place at the head of the bed. "Lie down. You're not well."

Yugi obeys him mechanically, going through the motions, but he doesn't seem to be all there. Atem pulls the blankets up to Yugi's chin. "Yugi, can you tell me what happened?"

"I can't remember."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

Yugi looks like he's in pain. "I...I don't know. I can't remember."

"I see," Atem says. "You're not Yugi, are you?" Atem figured as much from the moment he set eyes on Yugi. Yugi without his memories would still be Yugi, but whoever this is looking at him with Yugi's eyes just isn't him. It doesn't feel like Yugi.

"I don't know who that is."

The pharaoh touches Yugi's forehead. He's still freezing. "It's okay. Close your eyes," Atem says gently, and Yugi, or Not-Yugi, closes his eyes.

Atem takes Yugi by the hand and focuses on locating his mind. Now that Yugi's heart is awake, it will be easier to find him. He can sense Yugi's mind floating just beneath the surface. It doesn't take much to coax him awake.

Yugi's eyes flutter open, and Atem touches his forehead. "Are you all right, Yugi?"

Yugi's eyes go wide. "Pharaoh." He says it like he hasn't been allowed to breathe for days. "Something's wrong."

"I know," Atem says. "How do you feel?"

"I sense a presence inside my heart," Yugi says after a moment. "I don't know what it is."

"Does it feel evil?"

"I don't know. All I know is that it's very, very angry." Yugi won't look Atem in the eyes. "I could feel it taking over last night while I was dreaming. I tried to stop it, but there was nothing I could do."

"Look at me, Yugi." Yugi looks up at him after a moment with tired eyes. Past the exhaustion, Atem can see manic traces of the other presence. "We will figure this out. I promise.”

Yugi nods. "Okay."

"Now take it easy. I'm going to call Ishizu. She should be able to point us in the right direction." Ishizu and her brothers have always been in tune with the shadows. They've studied them all their lives. If anyone should know what to do, it's them. Atem can only hope there's something that can be done.

* * *

Atem goes downstairs to find Joey raiding their refrigerator, true to his word. Kaiba is sitting at the kitchen table with an untouched peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a paper plate in front of him. It's probably the most amusing sight Atem has ever walked in on, but he doesn't really feel like laughing.

"Atem," Joey says with a mouthful of salami. He puts his armful of food items down on the table. "So what happened? Is Yugi okay?"

"He's resting now, but he's not all right," Atem says. "The shadows have a strong grip on his heart. It's like nothing I've ever seen. Something has taken up residence in his heart."

Joey pauses with a grape halfway to his mouth. "What? Are you telling me Yugi is possessed?"

"I suppose you could say it's similar to when I was with him, except whatever this is doesn't play well with others."

"Oh man. So that's why he was going crazy and throwing things at me."

"Yes," Atem says. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

"Ah, that was nothing. I've had way worse," Joey says with a wave of his hand. "So what do we do?"

"I've already spoken with the Ishtars. Ishizu thinks she might know what's going on, but she wants us to come visit so she can see Yugi for herself."

"You're going all the way to Egypt?"

"Yes. Ishizu is set to speak at a conference, so she can't make it over here. Now, If you'll excuse me, I need to go get Yugi ready. Oh, and Joey? Please put everything away when you're done this time."

Joey laughs. He does have a tendency to leave dirty dishes out after one of his legendary fridge raids. "Sure thing, buddy."

Atem leaves to go get Yugi ready, leaving Joey alone with Kaiba again. Joey is surprised Kaiba managed not to have an outburst about magic and shadows being fake. Too much magic talk tends to send him over the deep end.

Joey gathers up the dirty dishes, chicken bones and other miscellaneous trash he left behind in his fridge raid. He points to Kaiba's sandwich. "Are you going to eat that?"

"What do you think?" Kaiba snaps.

"Fine. More for me." Joey crams the whole sandwich in his mouth, much to Kaiba's horror.

"Are you always a human garbage disposal?"

"Pretty much," Joey says around a mouthful of sandwich. He takes the dirty dishes to the sink and takes a second to look up through the kitchen window at the shadows outside. Then he notices the Duel Monsters cards floating by. Huh. That's something you don't see every day. "Hey...uh...did you notice it's raining Duel Monsters cards outside?"

"Don't remind me."

"Man, the whole world's going haywire. I'm used to things getting weird when those two and their shadow magic are involved, but this takes the cake."

"Again with the 'shadow magic,'" Kaiba says. "You people crack me up. It's not like those Ishtars are going to say anything different." He pauses. "He's going to want a ride to Egypt, isn't he?"

"Most likely, yeah. Are you going to do it?"

"I don't have much of a choice, do I? If I don't help and something happens to Yugi, he'll never let me live it down."

"True. And then he'll never Duel you again."

"He'd better give me free Duels for life," Kaiba grumbles.

Joey doesn't mention that Atem already Duels him for free.

Kaiba can try to act like he's only doing this for the Duel, but they all know he has a soft spot for little brothers in trouble, and Yugi is undoubtedly Atem's little brother. Joey will just pretend he doesn't know that, and he definitely won't mention it out loud. He'd rather not have any more heavy objects thrown at his person, thank you very much.

"So," Joey says slyly, "any chance I can tag along?"

Kaiba laughs, and Joey is certain that something terrible just happened in the world as a result. "As delightful as it would be to share a twenty-hour flight with you, no."

Joey shrugs. "Hey. It was worth a try."

* * *

Yugi is almost asleep when Atem comes back in and tells him they're going to Egypt. Ishizu think she knows what's wrong, but she wouldn't tell him over the phone. She wants them to come visit so she can assess the situation. Yugi wishes he could just stay in his bed, but figuring out what's going on here with the shadows outweighs his will to sleep.

He lets Atem pull him out of bed and bundle him in jacket after jacket. Yugi doesn't feel all that cold, but Atem assures him that he's freezing. Yugi notices Joey raiding their fridge like usual, and Kaiba sitting at their kitchen table like...not so usual.

"Kaiba is in our house?" Yugi blurts out.

"It was an emergency," Atem replies. "I didn't have time to kick him out."

Kaiba makes a sound that might be a laugh if it were any other person. "Come on. Let's go."

"He's coming with us?" Yugi asks, further shocked.

"He's taking us. In exchange for free Duels for a month."

"Two months," Kaiba says.

"Two months," Atem agrees. "Joey, you stay here and keep us updated. And if Grandpa calls, please make something up."

"Will do," Joey says. That's probably for the best. If Grandpa found out that something awful happened while he and Arthur were off at their Egyptology convention, he'd never want to go on another trip again. "Feel better, Yuug."

"Thanks," Yugi says, and the next thing he knows they're all piling into the back of Kaiba's limo. Even though his body is begging for sleep, he can't help but think that maybe he still is asleep. If not for the tired ache throughout his body, he would think he was dreaming.

Yugi thinks he must have fallen asleep on the car ride over, because between one blink and the next, he's on one of Kaiba's private planes. He and Atem are sitting across from Kaiba with a table between them, and it's really, really awkward. At least Atem and Kaiba aren't going at each other's throats like usual, but he's not so sure they're being civil. He doesn't have the strength to tell them to knock it off.

He's so tired. He just wants to sleep, but he's afraid to go back to sleep. He can feel the presence floating at the back of his mind. He doesn't know what it wants, and that scares him. He's afraid of what will happen if he's not concentrating hard enough. As long as he's awake, the presence can't slip into the cracks of his psyche. He won't let it.

And then he hears Atem or Kaiba say the word "game," and the presence is alive, consuming his senses, consuming his everything. It's so hard to focus on being himself. It's so hard to breathe.

"Are you all right, Yugi?" Atem says suddenly.

"Yeah. Just tired," Yugi replies, but he can feel the presence shifting around.

He feels Atem's hand on his forehead, and that's the only thing linking him to the outside world. The rest of his mind is darkness. He fights to stay awake, but suddenly he can't resist falling asleep. The presence awakens. His body is living for him, and he is one with the shadows.


	4. Dark Details

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the art that betnawr drew for this story! It's so great! T-T: https://betnawr.tumblr.com/post/176957836194/drawn-for-the-yu-gi-oh-big-bang-2018-kaiba

"By the way, Kaiba," Atem says, and it's all casual like he isn't hiding daggers in every word. They're only half an hour into this flight and Kaiba is already regretting it. He knew this was a mistake, and yet he did it anyway. Why is it he'll do anything for a Duel?

Kaiba narrows his eyes. "What is it?"

"You never did explain what you know about Yugi's deck falling from the sky."

"I was wondering when you would bring that up again," Kaiba says bitterly. He knew Atem wouldn't let it rest for long, but he isn't exactly thrilled to explain himself. "Why don't you tell me how you came back from the dead, and maybe I'll tell you what I know." That's sure to shut him up. Kaiba has been asking for months how he came back from the freaking dead, and Atem has never so much as dropped a hint. Personally, Kaiba thinks it was all a hoax and he was never dead to begin with. Probably hypnotism was involved, and a whole lot of hallucinogens. Either way, with that as his price, Kaiba is certain the pharaoh will drop all talk of raining Duel Monsters cards.

"I suppose it's time I told you the truth," Atem says, sighing and crossing his arms.

Oh? Kaiba doesn't let on how intrigued he is. He waits. And waits.

"Very well. I'll tell you the secret of my return, but only if you tell me all you know about why Yugi's deck was raining from the sky."

Kaiba was hoping this would remain secret until he was ready to share it with the world, but if this is how he gets the answer to this mystery, then so be it. Kaiba glances at Yugi, who is bundled in blankets and leaning against the window. He's out of it for sure. At least Atem is the only one who will find out about this before he's ready to release it to the world.

"Fine," Kaiba says. "But nothing I say leaves this plane, got it?"

"Naturally," Atem says with his usual smug smile.

Kaiba pauses to gather his thoughts. He can't believe he's about to tell this to another living soul. "In our research with the shadows, we discovered that shadows have the ability to store data."

"Data? You mean like a computer?"

"Yes. Except shadows have an exceptionally large storage capacity."

"But...how? They aren't even tangible."

"You would think that, but during our tests with the generator, we found that the shadows give off a special signature. We developed tech that could turn that signature into a legible stream of data. Then we figured out how to manipulate it into whatever we want–images, words, sound. Anything. No matter how much data we crammed into the shadows, they never ran out of space. They would always adapt. We assume there is a limit, but for our purposes, it's basically unlimited storage."

Atem is silent for a long time. At first, Kaiba assumes he didn't understand a word of that. Then finally he says, "Kaiba, you are the only person I know who would be even remotely interested in discovering this."

"You mean I'm the only one capable of discovering it."

"Indeed. You still haven't explained how Duel Monsters cards came falling out of the sky."

"I'm getting to it," Kaiba snaps. "With near unlimited data storage, it means there's no limit to how realistic we can make our holograms. They can be as huge and as detailed as we want."

Atem's eyes widen. Kaiba thinks he's catching on. "You didn't."

"Of course. At KaibaCorp we like to leave no stone unturned. Especially when it comes to the Duel Disk, and the shadows are especially good at storing Duel Monsters data, so why not use that to our advantage?" 

"I don't believe you," Atem says. "So it actually worked? The shadows can store Duel Monsters data and create holograms?" 

"They can't create the holograms. They can only store the data for the holograms. We still need to provide the tech and a powersource, and that's the hard part. It takes a lot of power to run that generator, and it takes up a whole room. We need to find a way to make it a lot smaller if we're ever going to combine it with the Duel Disk."

Atem opens his mouth but Kaiba cuts him off. "What does this have to do with Yugi's deck falling from the sky, right? I'm getting to it. The first time we tested converting Duel Monsters data into shadows, I used your deck, Yugi's deck and my own. It was a success, and so we saved that shadow data. There's a repository back at the lab where we store it all. The shadows that contain the data for Yugi's deck must have mixed with the rest of the shadows when they started taking over the city."

"The shadows roaming the city are related to Yugi's condition somehow," Atem says. "And Yugi is a strong Duelist. He has a very strong connection with his deck. It doesn't surprise me that your shadow data for Yugi's deck would be affected by something like this."

"Or maybe it was just a miscalculation on our part and the shadows are a lot harder to contain than we thought," Kaiba snaps. Leave it to Atem to bring their "heart of the cards" nonsense into this.

"I see," Atem says. "So when were you planning to share all of this with us?"

"I would have told you eventually. We're still a long ways off from the grand reveal. It's going to be a while before any of this tech is stable enough to work with the Duel Disk."

"Good luck with that."

"You'll be singing a different tune once I perfect it. With the direction we're headed, eventually we won't need to carry physical cards with us. You'll just have to scan them into the Duel Disk and let the shadows take care of the rest. You'll still need to own the physical card to prevent piracy, of course."

"Kaiba, I can never figure out if you're a madman or genius."

"Yeah, well either way I'm rich," Kaiba says. "Okay, I held up my end of the deal. Now it's your turn."

Atem's smirk fades away. He glances at Yugi, who's still fast asleep. Kaiba suspects that's exactly what he wants. 

"What I tell you is what I'm allowed to tell you," Atem says. "Don't ask for any further details."

Kaiba leans forward. "Let's hear it, then."

Atem pauses to gather his thoughts. "The afterlife is a strange place. I can't give much detail, but know that it doesn't operate like our living world."

"Naturally," Kaiba says. In truth he doesn't believe a word of this "afterlife" nonsense, but he at least wants to know what Atem thinks happened.

"The gods are there forever. You can feel them every day. When you're someone like me though, you touch them every day of your living life. You are close to them like no other. Such is the way of things, but the gods don't always agree with their own decrees."

"Start making sense," Kaiba says. 

"In short, we don't get along so well."

"Why's that?"

"I think they're pompous hypocrites. They think I'm full of myself."

"I can't say I disagree."

"Yes, well, in this case they saw me as a liability. A threat to their image. Here I was, a man who had cheated death for three thousand years, and then when I finally entered the afterlife, I was a legend among the dead. They wanted to bring me down a peg, or so they said."

"I don't blame them," Kaiba says. "I would jump at the chance if I was them too." 

And Atem actually laughs at that. "Then you'll enjoy what happened next. They set a trap for me, but I was too blind to see it. They challenged me to a game of senet, and in my arrogance, I accepted the challenge without asking what the penalty would be for failure. I never imagined they could do anything to me at that point. What more can you do to a dead person?" 

"You lost, didn't you?" Kaiba asks, not bothering to hide his glee.

"I fell flat on my face. They are the gods after all. I shouldn't have been foolish enough to believe I could defeat them. The penalty was my return to earth. They wanted that badly to be rid of me."

"I don't believe this. The gods kicked you out of the afterlife for being annoying?"

"Essentially. Yes."

Kaiba laughs the way he does when he figures out how to beat his business rivals. "That is so rich. That's the greatest thing I've heard all day." 

"I'm glad you find my downfall so entertaining, Kaiba," he says.

Yugi groans and Atem's attention is all on him. 

"Are you okay, Yugi?" he asks. Yugi is looking sort of tortured, burning, like he's thinking of a painful memory. He isn't comfortable.

"Yeah," Yugi says. "Just tired." But that's not true, not by long shot. Even Kaiba can tell he's lying, and if Kaiba can tell then so can Atem.

"Are you in any pain?" Atem asks.

"No, I just...I'm thirsty," he says suddenly. Atem makes eye contact and Kaiba nods and gets up to go to the pantry. He could call one of his attendants over, but he would rather leave those two alone to work through whatever this is. He knows when to give people their space, even if he doesn't always actually do it.

Kaiba isn't one to believe in magic, but clearly Yugi has some weird connection with the shadows that's causing him to get sick or something. He makes a mental note to research this further when he gets back to his lab. Whatever it is, Yugi isn't well. Kaiba would think it was fake, that there's no way the shadows could have this effect on someone, but Yugi isn't the type to fake something like this for attention. Something really is wrong with him. Kaiba could see it in his eyes. It felt like he was looking at another person, almost like Yugi wasn't himself.

* * *

"Yugi, can you hear me?" Atem asks. Yugi's skin is freezing. His eyebrows are knit together in concentration or worry. Then Yugi looks at him, and Atem knows it isn't really him.

"So we meet again," Atem says in Egyptian.

Yugi doesn't say anything. Only stares at him with eyes that aren't his own. "I heard your story," Yugi says. 

"Really?"

"You forgot to mention the part where Ra revoked your royal privilege, Pharaoh."

He didn't forget to mention that part. He left it out on purpose, and he certainly hasn't told Yugi. It was too painful to tell. 

"Who are you?" Atem asks. 

"I don't know."

"You have knowledge of the afterlife, of  _ my  _ afterlife. Surely you know who you are."

Yugi doesn't say anything. Only looks at him with eyes that aren't his own. "I remember nothing more than what I've told you."

"Surely there's something else?" Atem says.

Yugi closes his eyes. "Well...there is one thing."

"What's that?"

"A falcon," Yugi says. "I remember a falcon."

When Yugi opens his eyes, he's back to himself. "I'm sorry, Pharaoh," he says softly. "I wish I was strong enough to resist it."

Atem squeezes his shoulder. "It's all right. The Ishtars will know what to do."

Atem has utmost trust in the Ishtars, but In the back of his mind, he's frightened of what will happen if they don't have answers. If Ishizu and her brothers don't know what's going on, they'll be all the way back to square one.


	5. Beyond a Shadow

They arrive in Egypt in the middle of the night. Ishizu told Atem over the phone that any time they arrived would be fine, but he still hates to impose on them like this. Kaiba's enormous private jet lands at Cairo International Airport, and the personnel greets Kaiba like he's a regular. Atem wonders how many times he's flown here, but then again, it doesn't surprise him that Kaiba feels a pull to this place, even if he'll never admit it.

There's a car waiting for them outside. No doubt Kaiba called it ahead of time. Having to duel him an extended number of times for the next two months will be worth it.

They drive until long past the metropolitan area. Ishizu's home is in a small, quiet neighborhood. The houses along this road all look similar, but they know right away when they get to Ishizu's house. She's standing outside to greet them, waving them down.

"How are you feeling, Yugi?" is her first question.

"Tired," Yugi says. "If you don't mind, can I go lie down?"

"Of course," Ishizu says. "Come right inside."

They go into Ishizu's simply furnished home and she leads Yugi to a back room before joining Atem and Kaiba at her kitchen table.

"I understand what you meant over the phone, Pharaoh," Ishizu says, placing a cup of tea in front of each of them. "The shadows have a strong hold on him."

"Yes," Atem says. "Do you have any idea what could be causing this?"

"I'm afraid I do," Ishizu says. "A few days ago, we sent prayers to the gods in your honor."

"What? Why?"

"We knew that your eventual return to the afterlife might present obstacles for you. We wanted to appease the gods in your name. I know it can be...a sensitive topic. We thought it was best not to worry you." Ishizu shakes her head. "I'm so sorry, Pharaoh. We never realized it would affect Yugi in this way."

"I don't blame you, Ishizu," Atem says. "I understand you just wanted to help, but how could prayers alone call the shadows like this?"

"Odion can explain better. He's the one who wrote the prayer."

"Okay, am I the only one who thinks this is a load of garbage?"

Ishizu, calm as ever and without missing a beat, says, "I see you're still a skeptic, Kaiba."

"You have no idea," Atem says, taking a sip of tea.

"I'm serious," Kaiba says. "It's fine if you want to believe 'magic' and 'prayers' had something to do with this, but Yugi needs medical attention, not prayers."

"Prayers got us into this, Kaiba," Ishizu says. "I doubt they'll get us out." She looks at Atem. "We'll wait for Odion so we can go over his prayer. Perhaps you'll see something we overlooked."

Kaiba sits back in his chair and grumbles. "I can't believe you people."

Atem ignores him. "Will Odion and Marik be back soon?" Over the phone, Ishizu told him that her brothers had flown out to a museum they were helping with their Egyptology exhibit, but she told him they would be back by now.

"They should be back in a little while. They couldn't find a flight that would get them here in time, so they're driving back."

"Oh. I'm sorry to be such a burden."

"It's no trouble at all. Anything to help Yugi," Ishizu says. "Now, I'm sure you must be tired from your trip. You're welcome to go in the back and rest while we wait."

"No thanks," Kaiba says, standing up. "I'm finding a hotel. I need a break from crazy town."

"You have my thanks, Kaiba," Atem says. "Without you, we would never have gotten here as fast as we did."

"Whatever. You'd better hold up your end of the deal."

"Of course. I'd ever dream of backing down."

"Good." With that, Kaiba nods to Ishizu and takes his leave.

"I'm beginning to think he'll never change," Ishizu says with a smile.

"Not anytime soon," Atem agrees. "If you'll excuse me, Ishizu, I really would like to go rest."

"Of course. I'm sure twenty hours on a plane with Kaiba would make anyone tired."

Ishizu leads him to the room she prepared for him, and Atem thanks her for the millionth time for her hospitality. Instead of going to sleep though, Atem slips into the room directly across from his. In the dark room, he can see Yugi in the bed resting, his chest rising and falling in sleep. He takes a seat in the chair next to the bed, careful not to wake him.

When the gods returned him to this world, he knew that he and Yugi would never have a normal life, but he never thought the shadows would ever affect Yugi this way. Yugi was once a conduit for their power. Surely that counts for something? Apparently not. They don't fear Yugi enough not to do something like this.

"It'll be okay, Pharaoh," Yugi mumbles, touching Atem's hand. "We'll figure out this mess."

"I know," Atem says. "Your hands are freezing."

He finds every blanket in the room and covers Yugi with them. Yugi rolls over and falls instantly back to sleep. Atem can't tell if Yugi's face is peaceful or not in the darkness, but he doubts it. He watches over Yugi until he too falls asleep.

* * *

The next time Atem wakes up, there's morning light streaming in through the window, and he's still in the chair beside Yugi's bed. There's a blanket over his shoulders. He smiles and quietly slips out of the room to let Yugi rest. He goes into the living room to find all three Ishtars sitting on the couch.

"Hey, Pharaoh," Marik says. "Long time no see."

"I'm sorry our prayers caused you so much harm," Odion says, his voice reverberating around the room. "We were just looking over the prayer I wrote. Here, have a look."

He hands Atem an open notebook full of writing. Odion's handwriting is emaculate. Atem would cry tears at its beauty if he weren't in the presence of others.

"You were very thorough," Atem says. The prayer spans multiple pages. It's been a long time since Atem read his mother tongue. He hasn't forgotten.

"Yes," Odion says. "We prayed for your soul and your prosperity forevermore. We asked that the gods forgive whatever offenses may have transpired, all in the name of Horus."

"Horus?" Atem says with venom. "Why not...well...anyone else but him?"

"We realize you don't really see eye to eye with him, Pharaoh," Ishizu says. "But he is essentially your guardian. All matters of your soul go through him before all others."

"I like to forget that," Atem says bitterly.

"Whether you like it or not, he is the one who watches over your soul."

"Whether _he_ likes it or not," Atem says.

"That remains to be seem. We'll never know if our prayers worked until your return to the afterlife, but some of them certainly worked. We just don't know which ones, and in what way."

"I can't think of anything I wrote that would make the shadows react the way you described," Odion says. "But I've highlighted parts that may be of interest to you."

Atem flips through the extensive prayer, scanning for the parts that Odion highlighted, or anything else that pops out at him. He lands on a page with more highlighting and scribbled notes than the other pages. A circled portion at the bottom catches his attention.

_Lord Horus, when the time comes, please guide our pharaoh to his final home with all the glory befitting a pharaoh. Until that time, watch over him. Protect him from harm and be with him always._

Atem narrows his eyes. He reads that passage several times. He's always very careful when commanding his shadows. He knows he has to choose his words carefully, otherwise they wind up doing things he didn't anticipate.

Atem remembers the feathers that fell in Yugi's mindscape, and the way the presence had knowledge of his afterlife. One of the only things the presence could remember was a falcon.

He closes the notebook and tries not to show the extent of his unease. "I think I might know what's wrong."

"Really? What is it?" Ishizu asks.

"I have a hunch, but I'm not entirely certain that it's right. Let me go try something. I'll be right back. Whatever happens, don't come in."

"Of course, Pharaoh," Ishizu says. "Do what you must."

He goes to Yugi's bedroom and silently cracks the door open. Yugi is still asleep, just as Atem left him. He sits in the chair beside Yugi's bed and touches his forehead. He's still cold. If Atem is right, it makes sense that Yugi is exhausted and freezing. His body can't keep up with the divinity inside of him.

"Horus?" Atem calls. The name holds immense power. The moment it leaves Atem's lips, he can sense a change in the shadows. They scurry away from Yugi's heart, afraid of the deity slowly regaining consciousness within him.

Yugi opens his eyes, blinks a few times, and looks up at Atem. It isn't Yugi. Atem sighs. He can't believe he didn't see it earlier. He is in the presence of a god, but Atem isn't all that impressed.

"Horus."

"Oh. It's Baby Atem."

"Shut up."

Yugi, or, Horus, groans and rubs Yugi's eyes. "I knew you you were bitter about being sent here,"  he says in Egyptian, "but I didn't think you would sink so low as to tear me from my throne to this miserable place."

Atem hoped he wouldn't have to see this god again for years to come. He never thought they would reunite under such circumstances. He especially never thought he would ever see him through Yugi's eyes.

"I didn't do this," Atem says. "My friends prayed for my safe return to the afterlife. They invoked your name, asked you to protect me, to be with me, and I supposed the shadows took it a little too literally."

"Then your friends are idiots. Don't they know that prayers have consequences?"

"They didn't know. In the past they were among my priests. They were very powerful. It doesn't surprise me they were able to convince the shadows to uproot a god."

Horus looks like he wants to say more, but he groans and closes his eyes. He looks like he's in pain. Now that Horus' divinity is fully awake, Atem is certain it's even more taxing for Yugi's body to contain him.

"Your Yugi isn't built to handle a god."

"He's faired better than most would."

"He hasn't burst into flames yet. I guess you're right. What I want to know is why the shadows thought it was a good idea to put me with Yugi instead of you."

"The shadows fear me," Atem replies. "They would never do something like this to me without my knowledge. Yugi was the next best thing."

"Is that so? I'm going to have to give those shadows a talking to."

"Indeed. Now, are you able to leave Yugi's body or are we going to have to pray some more?"

"Of course I can," Horus says, sounding offended. "Who do you think you're dealing with?"

"A nuisance," Atem says. Horus glares at him, and Atem chuckles. "Go. Yugi has suffered enough."

"I don't want to stay here another minute," Horus snaps, "but I suppose I do owe Little Yugi an explanation."

"Yes, I suppose you do," Atem says, softening a little.

Horus chuckles. "I can't believe this. Your parents will get a kick out of this when I tell them." That's a blow to Atem's heart, but he doesn't think it's intentional. "I don't want to see you again for at least another eighty years. Got it?"

"I'll do my best," Atem says, and Horus closes his eyes—Yugi's eyes. "Goodnight, Horus."

"Goodnight, Baby Atem."

Horus' presence fades away and Yugi's face calms into sleep. Atem can still sense him dimly within Yugi's heart, but he's confident that Horus will move on shortly. He makes sure Yugi is comfortable before going to tell the Ishtars what happened. He thinks they'll get a kick out of it too.

* * *

Yugi is awake inside of a dream. It's happened to him several times in his life, but not since Atem and him separated from each other. He had forgotten how weird it felt. There's darkness everywhere and he doesn't recognize where he is. He tries calling upon his soul room. Usually that's all he has to do and he goes straight there, but nothing happens.

"Hello?" he calls, but no one replies. He would feel a lot better if Atem were here. They sometimes share dreams.

Yugi can sense that the other presence is still somewhere in his heart. It has never given any indication that it wants to hurt him, but that doesn't make Yugi feel any better. He has never sensed any malice or kindness from the presence. It's just there.

The shadows begin to swirl and part to reveal a falcon in a tree. It's sitting on a branch at eye level, staring right at him. Falcons have always made Yugi feel safe. They remind him of Atem.

"Of course they do," the falcon says. "Falcons are the symbol of the pharaoh."

Yugi knows it's a dream and all, but the talking falcon still scares him half to death.

"Don't be afraid. You know who I am."

Yugi gawks at the falcon. Yugi has met many strange people in his life, but he's pretty sure he doesn't know any talking falcons. Even so, the falcon does seem familiar.

Yugi narrows his eyes. "I remember you. After I solved the Millennium Puzzle, you were always there with us. Whenever a Duel got tough, you always gave the pharaoh strength. Who are you?"

"I watch over the pharaoh. We are one. Even when he's a brat. It's in the job description."

It clicks. He's heard Atem complain about this god far too many times not to recognize him. "You're Horus."

"In the flesh. Well, if you can call a dream world conjured up by your mind 'the flesh.'"

"What are you doing here?"

"It seems your friends the Ishtars decided to try to get your pharaoh back in the gods' good graces with prayer. They should have known better. For those with power such as them, prayer to the gods is never simply prayer."

"Oh. The shadows listened to them, didn't they?"

"Exactly. See? You understand. I don't know why they didn't see this coming."

"I'm sorry I didn't recognize you before. It would have made things a lot easier."

"You didn't know. No harm done. But you'd think your pharoah would know me when he sees me."

"Um...may I ask a question? My lord?"

"Go ahead. And stop with the 'my lord' stuff. It gets old fast."

"Oh. Okay," Yugi says. "Is Atem's afterlife in any danger? Will you let him in when...you know, when his time comes?"

"Our relationship isn't the best, but fear not, Yugi. Your pharaoh's soul is safe. We don't destroy people's souls for being insufferable brats."

And Horus winks. It's the weirdest thing Yugi has ever seen.

"Sorry for causing you so much trouble. Just tell your friends to be careful from now on with their prayer. The shadows will try to do whatever they say."

"Okay, I will."

"Oh, and one more thing. Tell your friend Mr. Scientist to stop trying to mix his weird technology with the shadows. It's unnatural. If he wants to study the shadows, tell him to learn from your tomb keeper friends. They might have messed up this time, but they know what they're doing."

Before Yugi can reply, he is awake in his room at the Ishtar's house. His body is aching. It feels like he's been asleep forever. He sits up and groans. The pharaoh always told him that Horus was insufferable. He's starting to wonder if they're both just a couple of insufferable people, but he decides not to ponder that thought too much for fear of Horus' genuine wrath.

He hears footsteps outside the bedroom door, and Atem bursts into the room.

"Yugi," Atem says, and Yugi doesn't think he's ever heard him sound so relieved.

The pharaoh sits at the edge of his bed. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I think so," Yugi says. "I'm just so tired."

"That's to be expected," Atem says. Yugi can see him measuring his words. "Do you understand what happened to you?"

"Just now I had a dream that Horus spoke to me," Yugi says after a moment. "I have a feeling it wasn't just a dream."

"It wasn't," Atem says. "What did he tell you?"

"He said the Ishtars caused all of this with prayer. Is that true?"

"Yes. To think they're powerful enough to influence a god."

"I guess they didn't know their own strength," Yugi says.

"I suppose. What's important is that you're safe. Now, you should rest. You look tired."

Yugi is tired of sleeping, but he can't deny that he's exhausted. "Yeah," he says. He lies down and Atem covers him with the blankets.

"Good night, Yugi," Atem says.

"Good night, Pharaoh."

Atem turns off the lights and shuts the door behind him. Yugi closes his eyes. In the space between sleeping and waking, Yugi could swear he feels a glimmer of Horus' presence, but this time he isn't afraid. He slowly drifts to sleep.

* * *

A week later, one of the KaibaCorp tech labs explodes. There are no injuries, but his research is gone, all of it except for the developments Kaiba made on his newest model of Duel Disk. Unfortunately (or fortunately, the way Atem sees it) the new Duel Disk won't be shadow powered, or whatever Kaiba was going to call it.

"Perhaps the gods are trying to tell him something," Atem says.

Yugi laughs. "Maybe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked the story! Thanks again to betnawr for being my artist!


End file.
